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Farrell: Telfer's 'arrogant England' jibes are just a Scotsman trying to stir up passion

By
Alex Lowe, Press Association

PUBLISHED:

16:15 GMT, 29 January 2013

|

UPDATED:

17:53 GMT, 29 January 2013

JIM TELFER EXCLUSIVE

England are too arrogant, pretentious and condescending to realise they're not as good as they think they are!

Click here to read the full explosive interview

Andy Farrell has insisted he does not recognise the accusation of 'arrogance' that has been levelled at the England squad by Lions legend Jim Telfer.

Responding to Sportsmail's exclusive interview with the former Scotland coach, Farrell revealed the players have laughed off the jibes, which he believes are designed to get the Scots fired up before their trip to Twickenham for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup showdown.

The England management under Stuart Lancaster have worked hard over the last 12 months to eradicate any sense of arrogance from the national team.

Big week ahead: The England squad in training at Pennyhill Park in Bagshot on Tuesday morning

Farrell said: 'I definitely don’t recognise anything he has said.

'People say this every year about the English anyway. It has stuck now. That is why we take it tongue-in-cheek. We know exactly what we are about.

'A couple of the lads have seen it and they are all taking the mick out of each other. They think it’s quite funny about those who have been mentioned. There are a few jokes flying around the place.'

Telfer told Sportsmail that England, who beat New Zealand on the same weekend as Scotland lost to Tonga, are not as good as they think they are.

He said: 'They are too arrogant, too pretentious and too condescending to realise they have a problem.'

Chris Ashton, Danny Care, Ben Youngs and Manu Tuilagi were named as 'very impressionable' players who let the All Blacks win go to their heads.

There was credit for England’s coaching team of Lancaster, Farrell and Graham Rowntree, who Telfer described as: 'All from the North and all down to earth.'

Lancaster’s first aim when he took interim charge of the England squad a year ago was to reconnect the national team to their roots.

On the ball: England backs coach Andy Farrell, and with captain Chris Robshaw (below) on Tuesday

Top post: England boss Stuart Lancaster

In the wake of the 2011 World Cup disappointments, Lancaster wanted to restore a sense of pride in the jersey from within the squad and a sense of pride in the England team from the public.

England now prepare for the RBS 6 Nations in Leeds rather than in Portugal. They drew 6,000 to an open training session at Headingley and Lancaster last Friday held a seminar for 500 grass-roots coaches.

Telfer’s comments have certainly stoked the boiler ahead of Saturday’s Six Nations opener at Twickenham, where Scotland have not won in 30 years.

'He’s Scottish isn’t he, very passionate about his country and he wants to give his lads as much belief as he can,' Farrell said. 'He cares about his country.

'It is him trying to do the right thing by his own country, to try and motivate them.

'That is what he has always been about really – passion and stirring a few feathers up along the way. It is what you want, a bit of passion.'

Ben Youngs is sticking to his guns
despite acknowledging that his impetuosity cost England an easy penalty
kick late on in the 20-14 defeat by Australia.

'If it's on I'll go. If I get it
wrong I'll hold my hand up,' he said after head coach Stuart Lancaster
announced his decision to switch his scrum-halves – Harlequins' No 9
Danny Care started the first two internationals.

Mistake: Ben Youngs fumbles the ball

Youngs added: 'I got it wrong against Australia, but there have been times when it has worked. I'm an instinctive player – it's the way I play and I won't change it. If I have it knocked out of me then I won't be the player I want to be.'

He looks to have regained the starting berth due to his form against South Africa last summer, before a shoulder injury ruled him out in the second Test.

Though Care helped to make a try against Australia for Manu Tuilagi off a 'tap and go' penalty, he looks to have been dropped for his poor positional kicking which gave Australia counter-attacking opportunities, including setting up the attack which led to wing Nick Cummins scoring.

Youngs was so disappointed by his rash decision last Saturday that he drove home immediately to Leicester rather than stay, as planned, at the team's training base in Bagshot over the weekend.

'If I hadn't then I would have been moping about,' he said.

'So you just have to get out of the environment. We are here (at the training base) for quite a time and it does get intense.'

He hopes to gain inspiration from starting a Test alongside his brother, Tom, for the first time.

'It will be a great moment. To be playing alongside your brother in an England shirt at Twickenham is going to be pretty amazing. I will try to feed off that emotion and energy to try to put in a performance.'